a. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a carrier and spacer assembly for a head rail of an architectural covering, such as a covering for an architectural opening, like a window or door. This invention particularly relates to carriers and spacers for holding, moving and tilting vertically arranged louvers of a louvered venetian blind.
b. Backgound Art
Vertical venetian blinds have generally been provided with horizontally-extending head rails, holding a plurality of carriers or travellers that can be moved in spaced apart relationship along the longitudinal length of each head rail. Each carrier has typically supported a vertically-extending louver or slat in such a manner that the consumer of the venetian blind could move the louver along the length of the head rail (e.g., by pulling on a first operating cord or pull cord) and also could rotate or tilt the louver about its vertical axis (e.g., by pulling on a second operating cord or tilt cord). For this purpose, each carrier has typically included a vertically oriented, drive hub or worm wheel, provided on top with a worm gear or the like. The bottom of each drive hub has supported a depending louver holder, adapted to hold securely the top of a louver while its carrier has been moved longitudinally and while the drive hub has been rotated so as to move the louver holder and the louver and tilt them about their common vertical axis. In this regard, a longitudinally-extending tilt rod or drive shaft has been provided in the head rail, extending through the carriers and engaging their worm gears, whereby rotation of the tilt rod about its longitudinal axis has caused the drive hubs of the carriers to rotate about their vertical axes so as to make the louver holders and the attached louvers tilt together.
The carriers in the head rails of vertical venetian blinds have also generally been provided with a plurality of longitudinally-extending spacers which keep the carriers and the louvers, supported by the carriers, in spaced-apart relationship when the carriers and louvers are moved longitudinally along the head rail, apart from each other, to close the blinds and cover their windows. The spacers have generally been longitudinally-elongated thin pieces of stainless steel or the like. Typically, the rear or closed end of each spacer has been fixed on a carrier and the front or open end has been slidably positioned on a smooth horizontal surface within a longitudinally-extending channel or groove of an adjacent carrier. When a blind has been closed, the front or lead carrier of the blind has been pulled frontally, away from its (rearwardly) adjacent carrier and has slid along the spacer that is slidably positioned within its channel and fixed to the adjacent carrier; when the lead carrier has reached the open end of the spacer of the adjacent carrier, the lead carrier has then started to pull the adjacent carrier frontally, and the adjacent carrier has slid along the spacer that is slidably positioned within its channel and fixed to the next (rearwardly) adjacent carrier. This has continued until all the carriers are spaced apart by the spacers between them. When the blind has been closed, the lead carrier of the blind has been pulled rearwardly, towards its adjacent carrier and has slid along the spacer that is slidably positioned within its channel and fixed to the adjacent carrier; when the lead carrier has reached the adjacent carrier, the lead carrier has then started to push the adjacent carrier rearwardly, and the adjacent carrier has slid along the spacer that is slidably positioned within its channel and fixed to the next adjacent carrier. This has continued until all the carriers have been pushed together. See, for example, the carriers and their spacers in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,092,386, 4,887,657, 4,732,202, 4,559,670 and 4,335,775.
However, vertical venetian blinds have generally not been as easy for consumers to open and close as blind manufacturers would wish. This has been due to friction between the moving parts of the head rails of such blinds. Friction in the head rails has required consumers to expend significant amounts of energy when using the pull cords of the blinds or required relatively heavy motors for motor-operated blinds.
It is an object of the invention to overcome or at least reduce the above problems.
In accordance with a first aspect of this invention, a carrier and spacer assembly is provided for an architectural covering, such as a vertical venetian blind, that comprises:
a plurality of elongate, vertically-extending, covering portions which can be moved longitudinally between first and second positions;
a longitudinally-arrayed plurality of carriers, each of which is connected to an upper end portion of one of the covering portions; the plurality of carriers including a lead first carrier and a second carrier, adapted to be moved longitudinally by longitudinal movement of the first carrier, and a third carrier, adapted to be moved longitudinally by longitudinal movement of the second carrier;
a longitudinally-extending tilt rod, along which the carriers, are slidably arranged and can be moved longitudinally, with the covering portions, between the first and second positions; in one of the positions, the covering portions being spaced apart along the tilt rod, and in the other position, the covering portions being adjacent to one another at a longitudinal end of the tilt rod;
means for pulling the first carrier along the tilt rod between the first and second positions; and
means for moving the other carriers, with the first carrier, along the tilt rod between the first and second positions; the moving means including a longitudinally-arrayed plurality of longitudinally-extending spacers, each of which is provided between a pair of adjacent carriers; each spacer having a leading end portion which extends towards the first position and engages a carrier, and a trailing end portion which extends towards the second position and engages an adjacent carrier; the trailing end portion of each spacer and the leading end portion of the adjacent spacer being longitudinally overlapped;
wherein the leading end portion of each spacer contacts a carrier farther from the tilt rod than its trailing end portion contacts an adjacent carrier when the carriers and spacers are moved longitudinally towards the first position, whereby the carriers are easier to move longitudinally towards the first position, particularly where the first position is the closed position of the architectural covering and the second position is the open position of the architectural covering.
Advantageously, the tilt rod and the spacers are on laterally opposite sides of the carriers and the leading end portion of each spacer contacts a carrier laterally farther from the tilt rod than its trailing end portion contacts an adjacent carrier when the carriers and spacers are moved longitudinally toward the first position. It is especially advantageous that the spacers are horizontally aligned and the trailing end portion of each spacer underlies the leading end portion of an adjacent spacer. It is particularly advantageous that: the spacers are elongate strips and each carrier includes a channel, within which a spacer can move longitudinally along a horizontal bottom surface of the channel; and the trailing end portion of a spacer and the overlying leading end portion of an adjacent spacer are positioned in the channel with sufficient lateral play to allow relative angular sliding movement of the end portions of the spacers and of the channel of the carrier when the spacers and the carrier are moved longitudinally. It is quite particularly advantageous that only a lateral side portion of the trailing end portion of each spacer engages a carrier; and the lateral side portion is closer to the tilt rod than is a longitudinal center of the spacer. In this regard, it is especially advantageous that the leading end portion of each spacer includes an upwardly extending hook which can contact a lateral surface portion of a bridge overlying a horizontally-extending channel of a carrier, within which channel the spacers can move longitudinally; and the trailing end portion of the spacer includes a downwardly-extending hook adapted to contact only a lateral surface portion of an adjacent carrier that is laterally closer to the tilt rod than is the lateral surface portion of the bridge. Advantageously, the lateral surface portion of the adjacent carrier is outwardly adjacent to the channel and forms a part of a bottom edge of the channel, which bottom edge is tapered, laterally away from the tilt rod, in the first direction, particularly where the bottom edge is tapered at an angle of less than about 10xc2x0, quite particularly at an angle of about 0.5-5xc2x0.
In accordance with a second aspect of this invention, a carrier is provided for a head rail of an architectural covering, that is easier to move along a longitudinally-extending spacer in the head rail and that comprises: a longitudinally-extending channel, in which the spacer can be slidably positioned; opposite longitudinally-extending sides of the channel being tapered laterally outwardly of the channel from the center of each lateral side to its laterally-extending sides. Advantageously, each longitudinally-extending side of the channel is tapered laterally outwardly of the channel from the center of each longitudinally-extending side to its laterally-extending side at an angle of less than about 10xc2x0, preferably at an angle of about 0.5-5xc2x0. It is particularly advantageous that the channel comprise a longitudinally-extending horizontal surface and upstanding, opposite longitudinally-extending sides; a trailing end position of one of a longitudinally-arrayed plurality of spacers underlying the leading end portion of an adjacent one of the spacers on the horizontal surface.
In accordance with a third aspect of this invention, a head rail is provided for an architectural covering, including the carrier and spacer assembly of the invention.
In accordance with a fourth aspect of this invention, an architectural covering, particularly a vertical venetian blind, is provided, comprising the head rail of the invention.